One Element to Make Your Story as Attractive as a Hollywood Blockbuster (Storytelling Insight?#6)
Michael Davis
President & CEO, Keynote Speaker, Presentation And Speaking Coach | Communication And Storytelling Mastery For Leaders and Sales Professionals | Speaker's Advocate
The Common Element in Successful Stories
Think about your favorite movie or book.
There are many reasons it’s your favorite.
But typically, there is one that stands out more than any other…
It’s called, “Crossing the finish line.”
The Key to Keeping Your Audience Interest
What does ‘crossing the finish line’ mean?
It’s related to a key element of memorable stories — a clear objective for your main character to achieve.
In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker wanted to blow up the Death Star.
In the Marvel Universe, Iron Man wanted to defeat Thanos.
Harry Potter wanted to defeat Voldemort.
When your listeners are clear about your character's goal, it’s much easier for them to care about her journey to achieve it.
A common?problem I see in stories is they create “fuzzy goals.” Listeners aren’t sure what the objective is or if it’s been accomplished.
It’s like watching a sporting event, and not being sure when the game is going to end.
Clarity is King (and Queen)!
A financial planner wasn’t generating many new prospective clients. When we reviewed his story, the goal of his clients wasn’t clear. They wanted to retire “someday.”
Can you picture “someday?”
If it isn’t clear, we don’t know when it’s been accomplished.
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We re-worked the story and it became more clear. His clients wanted to retire in 15 years, on $12,500 each month before tax, so they could travel at least three times per year and visit at least one new city annually in their travels.
This is a goal you can clearly see, isn't it?
Improving this element of his story was a key reason he started attracting more clients.
A dietician was struggling with her story. In it, her patient wanted to “lose weight and feel better.”
Again, it’s difficult to picture in your mind because the objectives are vague.
Her restructured story highlighted a better for the patient, “I want to lose 40 pounds in the next six months so I can get down on the floor to play with my grandbabies and be able to completely walk the next mini-marathon in our city.”
On the surface, this looks like three goals, but one is key to the others — lose the 40 pounds in six months.
Accomplishing that one will make the other two possible.
Can you see the clarity of this goal?
And also the benefits it will provide?
In each of these, the speaker will be able to create a clear moment in which the audience can see the victory. But that’s the topic for another article.
You don’t need a Hollywood blockbuster budget in order to create the same emotional impact with your audience IF you have a crystal clear objective for your main character.
Create this and your audience will have a rooting interest to see that individual succeed.
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3 年Michael Davis - great article. I used to speak and disseminate information. But to your point, I weave in characters and their struggles and how they overcame the challenge based on my insights. The real story is the listener and how they internalize my story and overcome their challenges. When people master this skill, speaking to audiences can be transformative.